Distances
by Icee Suicune
Summary: Because absence makes the heart grow fonder.


Quite some time had passed since Tachimukai's days traveling with the Inazuma Caravan. He had never thought so much could happen in so short a time. He met his idol, made tons of new friends, improved his goalkeeper skills and even encountered aliens.

Plus, he met her.

At their first encounter, Tachimukai had thought Haruna was a little... more energetic than other girls. She had a certain attitude you didn't see often. She was always eager to help out others, and she wasn't afraid to get what she wanted.

Tachimukai liked that.

So it was no surprise when she had asked him to meet her up on top of the van one night, where she had confessed her feelings to him. Of course, he had felt the same way, and actually felt a little embarrassed that she had to make the first move. But one thing lead to another, and the two of them were an item.

It had all seemed so perfect. She liked him. He liked her. Kidou approved. There wasn't anything to worry about. For a while, at least.

All things come to an end, and before Tachimukai knew it, Aliea Academy was out of the way, and things had returned back to normal. The Inazuma Caravan wasn't needed anymore, and everyone was scheduled to return home soon.

Of course the team wasn't happy to see the others go. They had all grown close over that period of time, trained together, lived together. Became a team together. The night before they started their journey home, Haruna had asked Tachimukai to the top of the caravan again, and for the longest time they lay down in silence, staring at the night sky.

"So, what's going to happen?" Haruna has asked.

He didn't say anything at first. He didn't know what was going to happen either.

"I guess we'll go back home and go back to normal,"

Haruna shifted and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't want to go back to normal." she sighed. "I like my friends here. I like spending more time with my brother. I like being with you. I'm really going to miss all of this."

Slowly, he reached over for her hand. He laced his fingers between hers, and squeezed her hand tight. "Me too. And Haruna, I'll be waiting."

She turned to face him, an eyebrow raised. "Waiting for what?"

"The day I'll be able to see you again."

And since the morning after that, when they had all gone their separate ways, Tachimukai had been awaiting the day when he could see Haruna again. He had tried to keep his mind off the subject by practicing and keeping up with school, but they had all gained a certain amount of fame from the caravan, and with every mention of Raimon's amazing soccer team on the news, Tachimukai had felt a very bittersweet mix of emotions inside. The girls at school hadn't helped with matters much, either. With fame came fans...

"Tachimukai-kun! You never accept any of our confessions!" One particularly bold girl had declared, and her small circle of friends nodded their heads furiously behind her. "There's got to be a reason why!"

Tachimukai rubbed the back of his neck. "Not necessarily.. I just don't like any of them in that way-"

"You can get any girl you want here! There's got to be someone that you like!" the girl said again.

"There's probably a different girl we don't know about!" another spoke up. They all glanced at her, and had apparently arrived to the same conclusion.

"Tachimukai-kun, tell us who it is!" they demanded.

"W-what? No! There's not-"

"I know it's true, just spill it!"

These girls sure were persistent. Tachimukai sighed.

"She's... she's not here."

"What does that mean?"

"Don't worry about it! She's not here, and you all will probably never see her. _I _don't even know when I'll see her again."

"Oh my gosh," one of them gasped. "It must be one of the manager girls that were in the Inazuma Caravan!"

"You're right! Aw, that's so cute! He has feelings for a girl all the way in Inazuma Town!"

Tachimukai tried to wave the girls away. "Okay, okay. You all know now! I really need to get off to practice..." he hurried past them, and made his way to the practice field.

As he neared, he noticed a few more people than usual dotting the field. New recruits? Captain hadn't mentioned any...

"Hey, Tachimukai!" a teammate called, waving. "There's someone here you should see!"

Tachimukai ran over to him, and he couldn't believe his eyes.

"It's been a while, eh?"

"E-Endou-san!" Tachimukai dropped his bag and ran over to his temporary captain. "What are you doing here?"

Endou shrugged. "It felt like a good time to go and visit you all. I met up with Touko last week, and Yokato wasn't that far away." he smiled and patted Tachimukai on the back. "So, why don't we see how your techniques have improved? I've been practicing quite a bit myself!"

Tachimukai nodded and clapped his hands together. "Of course! I think you'll be pretty happy to see how much I've improved." Tachimukai began to walk towards the goalposts, but Endou put a hand on his shoulder.

"Before we start, one other thing." Endou glanced behind him. "Someone else is here to see you."

"Huh? Wh-"

She poked her head over the side of the clubhouse, and Tachimukai smiled when he saw her.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting so long!"

Haruna ran up to Tachimukai, and he pulled her into a big hug. She returned the hug, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "How was the wait, anyway?" she asked.

Tachimukai smiled. "It was worth every minute."

-.-.-

_**AN**_

_**It's been a while since I wrote Inazuma. Have my OTP.**_


End file.
